City Building and Construction Permits: Annual Statistics

Numbers of building permits serve as an important measure for cities, often corresponding with economic and population growth.

We've compiled current and historical permitting data from the Census Bureau, which collects data from most local jurisdictions. Housing data shown here covers buildings permitted and numbers of units for all cities with populations of at least 50,000.

Of the cities reporting data in 2018, those permitting the most units on a per capita basis were Apex, N.C. (444 units per 10,000); Fort Myers, Fla. (347 units per 10,000); and Doral, Fla. (345 units per 10,000). When only larger jurisdictions with populations exceeding 100,000 are considered, the following cities issued the most construction permits for new units in 2018:

Frisco, Texas: 271 permits per 10K

Murfreesboro, Tennessee: 202 permits per 10K

McKinney, Texas: 193 permits per 10K

Port St. Lucie, Florida: 155 permits per 10K

Cape Coral, Florida: 142 permits per 10K

Austin, Texas: 140 permits per 10K

Atlanta, Georgia: 134 permits per 10K

Reno, Nevada: 130 permits per 10K

Henderson, Nevada: 125 permits per 10K

Irvine, California: 123 permits per 10K

Cities issuing the most numbers of permits tend to be fast-growing areas of the southern U.S. and West Coast. This reflects broader, national migration patterns and steady job increases in these same areas that are generally outpacing the rest of the country. Elsewhere, some cities issue zero permits or only approve a few new units each year. Often, such areas with insufficient demand for new housing have struggling economies and aren't attracting any retirees. In other cases, densely-populated cities and suburbs may have little available land left to develop. Some cities may also adopt local ordinances intended to impede housing developments.

Historical Data for Building Permits Issued by Cities

Select a city to view annual permitting statistics by unit type for cities with populations of at least 50,000.

About the data: All data refer to numbers of units permitted for individual local jurisdictions (the Census Bureau publishes separate data covering metro areas.) Most cities voluntarily report permitting data to the Census Bureau on a monthly basis. Some, though, do not provide any data or only report data for a few months, such as New Orleans and Pittsburgh. The Census Bureau imputes totals for these cities based on prior trends. This report excludes cities reporting fewer than 10 months of permitting data for 2018. Totals reflect December 2018 end-of-year data, subject to revision with the release of the Census Bureau’s annual permitting data.